My Mate Rejected Me and Crowned His Mistress Luna

Morning light filtered through the curtains of Ethan's office as he nursed his hangover. I could smell the stale whiskey on him from across the room where I'd been instructed to wait while he "handled pack business." The memory of last night's humiliation still burned fresh—my knees bruised from being forced to the floor, glass cuts on my palms that had barely healed.

I heard footsteps approaching the family quarters down the hall. Piper's scent reached me before she appeared—vanilla and something sharper, like crushed herbs. She paused when she saw me, a predatory smile spreading across her face.

"Good morning, Luna," she purred, not bothering to hide her contempt. "Alpha Ethan is busy. Perhaps you should check on Tommy?"

Before I could respond, she continued down the hallway toward our son's room. Something in her tone made my wolf stir uneasily within me.

I followed her at a distance, my swollen belly making it difficult to move quickly. By the time I reached Tommy's doorway, Piper was already inside, perched on the edge of his bed where he'd been playing with his toy wolves.

"There's my little Alpha heir," she cooed, running a hand through his dark hair—Ethan's hair. "Practicing for when you'll lead the pack?"

Tommy looked up at her with those innocent eyes that still held trust for the Beta female who'd been hanging around our home more and more frequently.

"I'm going to be the strongest Alpha ever," he declared, puffing out his chest.

Piper laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Are you sure about that? You seem so...attached to your mother." She glanced toward the doorway where I stood, though I knew she'd scented me long before. "Such a mama's boy."

Tommy's face fell, then hardened with determination. "I'm not a mama's boy!"

"Prove it," Piper challenged, standing up and moving to the small bar cart in the corner of his room—Ethan's idea of "teaching him to be a man." She poured a generous shot of amber liquid into a glass. "Real Alphas can handle their whiskey."

My heart began to race as she turned back to Tommy, holding out the glass. Something wasn't right. I took a step forward, but my limbs felt heavy, my wolf's warning drowned out by the fog of exhaustion and pregnancy.

"I added a little something extra," Piper whispered, just loud enough for me to hear but not Tommy. "A test of true Alpha blood."

The moment the words left her lips, I knew. Wolfsbane. The distinctive bitter scent was faint but unmistakable.

"Tommy, don't—" I started, but it was too late.

He snatched the glass from her hand, his small face set with determination. "I'm not afraid!"

The liquid disappeared down his throat in one gulp. For a moment, nothing happened. Then his eyes widened in shock.

"Mommy?" he gasped, his tiny body going rigid.

Then came the convulsions.

His small frame jerked violently, limbs flailing as foam bubbled from his lips. The glass shattered on the floor as he collapsed, his skin taking on a bluish tinge.

"Tommy!" I screamed, lunging forward despite my heavy belly. I fell to my knees beside him, cradling his convulsing body against my chest. "Help! Someone help!"

Piper stepped back, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Oops," she said softly. "Guess he's not Alpha material after all."

The room spun around me as Tommy's small body continued to spasm in my arms. His scent—my baby's scent—was being overwhelmed by the acrid smell of Wolfsbane poisoning.

"Please," I begged, looking up at Piper. "Get the healer! Get Ethan!"

She just smiled.

Something broke inside me then—something deep and primal. The stress of watching my son die in my arms, combined with the lingering trauma of Ethan's Alpha command from the night before, created a perfect storm of devastation.

A sharp, tearing sensation ripped through my abdomen. I gasped, feeling warmth spreading between my legs. Looking down, I saw crimson staining my dress, pooling on the floor beneath me.

"No," I whispered, understanding instantly what was happening. "No, please, no."

I felt it then—the severing snap of the spiritual and physical tether connecting me to my unborn pup. My wolf howled in anguish, the sound echoing only in my mind as darkness crept into the edges of my vision.

The last thing I saw before collapsing beside my convulsing son was Piper's face, watching with cold calculation as both of Ethan's heirs fought for their lives on the floor of what should have been our sanctuary.